Wisdom...where and what would sailing be without it? As
we see it, our job here at Latitude 38 is not merely to entertain and inform, but also to educate. To that end, we devote
this section. Last updated: January 15, 2018.

Quotes
and Comments
Note: Most of the items in this section are submitted by readers.
I generally add new ones to the top of the list - but sometimes
you'll find new comments on old topics farther down, or on the older Wisdom Archive page.

"The difference between a power boater and a sailor: When a power boater steps aboard, he is in a hurry to get somewhere; when a sailor steps aboard, he's already where he wants to be." - author unknown

How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is clearly Ocean. - Arthur C. Clarke

Check out our new page, Dare to Win, for wisdom from Jim Kilroy of Kialoa fame.

When the challenges of intermittent dirt dwelling (or the most recent lightning strike) weigh heavily, I keep this on my desk to remind me of why I need to get back on the water as soon as possible. "It is not so much for its beauty that the sea makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from the waves, that so wonderfully renews a weary spirit." Unfortunately, I don't recall the author; Joseph Conrad perhaps?
-
John Lubimir, s/v Patriot (awaiting repairs) & s/v Flight Risk (2012 Solo TransPac and 2013 & 2015 Bermuda 1-2)

Regarding the item above, Marcy Zimmerman writes: I submitted a Classy Classified this morning and was lamenting the idea of selling our boat. So I went to the Wisdom section for solace. One quote particularly appealed to me, but when I Googled it, it turns out that it's a variation on a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson about the forest (not the sea). The actual quote is: "It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit." I'm going to put it up on my wall anyway.

Rob Murray submits the following: "Those who see sailing as an escape from reality have got their understanding of both sailing and reality completely backwards." Robert Pirsig (author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance), in a 1977 Esquire magazine article.

"I have always said that one of the reasons I love the sport of sailing is because you can do it in your pajamas." John Nebilak, Indigo, Cape Dory 36

My nephew Bobby told me about his first overnight up the Coast around Point Conception. He said, "My dad told me when I went on watch, 'DON’T HIT CALIFORNIA!'" – Steve Jennings

These quotes were submitted by Bob Reney of Alameda:

"With which stars do they go on speaking, the rivers that never reach the sea?” – Pablo Neruda, The Book of Questions

"Si todos los rios son dulces de donde saca sal el mar?
(If all rivers are sweet where does the sea get its salt?)”
– Pablo Neruda, The Book of Questions

Seen on the back of a shirt at Tinsley Island: "There are two kinds of people in the world. The haves, and the have yachts." – Dennis Deisinger

From Bob Reney of Alameda: "Sailing a boat calls for quick action, a blending of feeling with the wind and water as well as with the very heart and soul of the boat itself. Sailing teaches alertness and courage, and gives in return a joyousness and peace that but few sports afford." – George Matthew Adams

"There are but two ways to learn to sail, trial and error." – Robert Pickett, by way of Joel.

Those who go to sea for pleasure would go to hell for a passtime. (From a reformed merchantman, stolen of course, from who? Who knows!) – Judy Dundon

There is only one rule on my boat , no number two. – Markwesti aboard Patricia A

For every complicated boat problem, there is a simple and elegant solution – which is almost always wrong. – Mike Bennett, Cupertino

Sailing experience is a quality that one acquires just after one really needs it!

When a yottie with some money meets a broker with some experience, soon the broker has the money and the yottie has some experience.

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” – Jacques Yves Cousteau

The ultimate in wisdom from David Allocco:
If you die at sea, your friends may say, "At least he died doing what he loved."
The problem, of course, is that you’re still dead. So, try not to do that.

"I put the following quote from Ella Wheeler Wilcox in a book I published titled Turning Final, A Life Complete," writes Jim Reed.

One ship drives east and another west
with the self same winds that blow.
'Tis the set of the sails and not the gales
which decides the way to go.

Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate
as we wander along through life'Tis the set of the soul that decides the goal
and not the calm or strife.

Sailing Quotes from David R. Allocco:

1. Always keep the air side up and the water side down.
2. What goes down, sometimes comes back up.
3. Sometimes it’s too hot, it’s too cold, it’s dead calm, or it’s too windy, but it’s always just right.
4. A sailor is never a victim.
5. When you’re heading home, the dock is a long way away, but when you’re close to the dock, you’re closer than you think, and you’re going too fast!

This quote is usually applied to flying airplanes, but it works for boats too: Learn from the mistakes of others. You won’t live long enough to make them all yourself. – Bob Wassam, Oregon Coast

"When I was about 13, my Dad turned over the helm to me sailing up-bay at night. His instructions: "If you see the lights of a ship, turn the boat away from it, then wake me up." Dad's 93 now. My brother took him for a nice sail recently." – Scotty, Catalina 34, Paradise

When I got my first ocean capable sailboat, a seabird yawl, my friends and I drank beer. A lot of beer, in bottles. So not knowing better we took beer in bottles aboard. We spilt a lot of beer but luckily never broke any bottles. So we never learned the lesson that bottles are a no-no aboard boats. But one thing I did learn, at least on that seabird yawl, is that when the beer bottles start to whistle, ye best be reefing
the main.
Colvin, s/v Jaudera
Columbia 36
Titusville, FL

The Wanderer says "please, no poetry," but I snuck this one in:

To my eye,
Heaven is in the sky
short of that,
Heaven is on the sea
short of that,
Heaven is on the shore
short of that,
Burial at sea
would be 'my way'
to say Good bye.
– OG

"Reading the clock aloft," is a lovely turn of phrase, writes William M. Cunningham II, who sent us this quote from Joshua Slocum's Sailing Alone Around the World:
"I sailed with a free wind day after day, marking the position of my ship on the chart with considerable precision; but this was done by intuition, I think, more than by slavish calculations. For one whole month my vessel held her course true; I had not, the while, so much as a light in the binnacle. The Southern Cross I saw every night abeam.
"The sun every morning came up astern; every evening it went down ahead. I wished for no other compass to guide me, for these were true.
"If I doubted my reckoning after a long time at sea I verified it by reading the clock aloft made by the Great Architect, and it was right."

From Hugh Field of San Francisco: "Any damn fool can navigate the world sober. It takes a really good sailor to do it drunk." - Sir Francis Chichester, an early circumnavigator, spoken whilst loading his boat with gin. And one of my own… You'll know that sailing has overtaken your life when, while driving your car around a tight hairpin turn. you find yourself wondering why the boom hasn't jibed.

There is something magical about the dance that occurs between the ocean and the sky - with the wind as your partner. Whether it is under a bright blazing sun, or a star filled sky - the rhythm of the ocean, the surge of the vessel, the sound of the wind, and the splash of the waves. In all my wanderings and adventures, I have found no tonic stronger to restore my soul, replenish my spirit, and brighten my outlook on life. - anonymous (submitted by Kelvin Meeks)

3 Basic Rules: Keep yourself in, the water out, and the stick in the air.

From a Tuna boat captain, Lau Group, Fiji: "I believe in two things - Caterpillar and God, in that order."
- from Quadrifolia

1. On fog:
When God was making the earth, one day he made fog. He soon realized his mistake and to atone for his sin he gave man the inspiration to invent the anchor.2. On maneuvering:
Use slow when you think you need half, and half when you think you need full. If you need full, you are going too fast.
- Gregg Waugh, s/v Rochambeau, Beneteau 49

Although now a livaboard cruiser on the East Coast, I was once a Radio Officer on merchant ships. One day a grizzled old Third Mate gave me a most valuable piece of advice: "Sparks, whenever you do something in
command of a vessel, think about how it would sound on a witness stand."

"The superior seaman will use his superior judgement to avoid having to use his superior skills."
- Norm, s/v Bandersnatch, Gloucester, MA

From Dave Barry (humor columnist): "Sailboats get to their destination primarily due to continental drift." That's not an exact quote, but it conveys his message.
- Craig Scott, Columbia, SC

I had a request for this one some time ago - took me a while to find it:
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. – Robert A. Heinlein, from Time Enough for Love: "Notebooks of Lazarus Long"

Why Is a Ship Called a 'She'?
A ship is called a 'she' because there is always a great deal of bustle around her; there is usually a gang of men about; she has a waist and stays; it takes a lot of paint to keep her good looking; it is not the initial expense that breaks you, it is the upkeep; she can be all decked out; it takes an experienced man to handle her correctly; and without a man at the helm, she is absolutely un-controllable; she shows her topsides, hides her bottom and, when coming into port, always heads for the buoys. – Robert Young That one's a classic, sexist yet with a certain old-fashioned charm.

When asked where I am headed, my only answer is that I place my index finger in my mouth and when I take it out, I head the opposite direction from whichever side is cold. – Capt. Buzz, Yacht Taaroa

When I was working on a radar for a sailboat in Sausalito the owner asked me what other electronics experience I had. I told him I had worked in Aerospace on projects for NASA. He said, “That is amazing," and that marine work should be easy. I told him that it was the opposite. He said, "How can that be?" I told him that when you make a mistake in aerospace there probably is not going to be anyone coming back and looking for you. In marine work a mistake might put a crew in the liferaft and there is very good chance that they are coming back to meet you! – Dave Angelini from Astraea the Ketch

Imagine2frolic says, "Sailing isn't always a slick magazine cover."

"I speak from experience here, MUCH EXPERIENCE," exclaims Mike DeLury: A BOAT IS BUT A HOLE IN THE WATER THAT YOU ALWAYS TRY TO FILL IN WITH MONEY.

From Bill Nokes: While racing my cruising boat offshore of Brookings, Oregon, I became concerned we had up too much sail for the wind. A hard core racer aboard said, "Don't worry about gear breaking. If it doesn't break, it was built too heavy!"

"Something about sailing a boat brings so many senses and sensations into play that it's very difficult to pinpoint what it is specifically that makes me like it so much: the sight of sails and sheets overhanging the water; the foam and spray flying as the bow cuts the water; the motion of the boat; the physical and mental ballet necessary to handle the boat correctly. A sailboat might just be the most beautiful, sensuous and intelligent blend of man/machine/and elements that exists in the world today. The relationship between the three is the most harmonious I have experienced so far. Besides you can have a beer while you do it." - anonymous, submitted by
Craig Russell
s/v Addiction 1981 Newport 30 MK III
Emeryville

The only difference between prison and a ship at sea in the Navy is prisoners generally have more hot water and space! Rich Slayden

"I'm not sure of the origins of this quote," writes Yinka Tuakli, "but it was definitely
written so that I would find it."A ship in the harbour is safe... but that's not what ships are made for.

Seen by Mike Reed on a T-shirt at Cama Beach, Camano Island, WA: Is it better to be lost at sea or found at work?

David Rustigian came across this years ago and still believes it to be true:Without passion it's just wind and water.

"You must have this somewhere, but I didn't find it," writes Justin McCarter:I spent all my money on booze, boats and broads. And the rest of it, I wasted. - Elmore Leonard
We have it now!

"I saw this on a bronze plaque in a marine store," says Chris Penn:Definition: The Superior SailorThe superior sailor is one who uses his superior judgement to avoid the use of his superior skills.

"I ran across this Robert Burton quote over 30 years ago when I was setting off to sail around the world. It has always stuck with me:The winds are mad. They know not whence they come, nor whither they would go. And those men are maddest of all who go to sea.
Hope you like it."
Lon Bubeck, CF-37 Shaka

When you are sailing your piece of tupperware across the bay, and the ships are coming from one way and the tugs with barges are coming from another, just remember what a frog looks like in a blender. GET OUT OF THE WAY! - from Susan-Marie Hagen

Jeff Berman says, "To make your sailing weekends last longer, take your dentist sailing. As having him aboard will make time pass much slower."

Life is a voyage in which we choose neither vessel nor weather, but much can be done in the management of the sails and the guidance of the helm. - Author Unknown, sent in by Dave Mather

A quote from a offshore racing catamaran skipper:"How can you break records with lead on your keel?" Good question.
Gregory Clausen
Santana 30/30, Wisdom (see photo above)
Corte Madera

Chris Larsen writes: "I believe the following quote is from Bernard Moitessier in The Long Way. From Garry Willis of Breezn from Marina del Rey:I don't know the source but I keep it on my desk as a reminder.Sailing alone soothes me because the sea is fair, not cruel. It judges only your ability. It does not care who or what you are. It does not ask your age, color, sex, address, sexual orientation, education or IQ, but only your competence. It requires only that you can sail. If you can, you survive. If you can't, better stay ashore. That's fair, more fair than most of us experience on land...and refreshing."

"A sure cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree." Spike Milligan, from Ray Thackeray

Wisdom. . . or the lack thereof:
One member in my coastal cruising sailing class said after our instructor asked what the hell he was thinking when he drove our boat into the path of a harbor cruise boat, "I just wanted to get into a situation to see if I could get out of it." Needless to say he failed the class. - Paul Clausen, San Diego

A rebuttal to the above comment:
I may not own an ugly boat, but in agreement with the sentiments expressed by 'the Wanderer' in Latitude nearly every time someone asks, "What boat should I buy?" Buy the boat that meets your needs, not your wants (sorry if the attribution is inaccurate). My opinion, if you can't afford an Alberg, buy that ugly boat, get off the dock and go sail. - Dave Dodds

Also from Canada, Jay and Anita Bigland wonder, "How come all rocks that boaters collide with are referred to as 'uncharted'?"

Jim Revard saw this in the Hole in the Wall Bar and Marina, Ketchikan, Alaska:May the breeze be fresh and a fair one
May your life be long and a good one
May your death be easy and a quick one
May your beer be cold,
Let's have another one

Does your boat leak? Only when it rains.
“There are three types of water, freshwater, seawater and rain water. Rainwater will go where no other water can find to go.” - Jeff Berman (we know it's true!)

We discovered the following on a plaque on a wall in the old city section of
Mazatlan: "As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts." Herman
Melville, In Mazatlan, March 28 - April 16, 1844
from Jimmie Zinn, s/v Dry Martini, Point Richmond

Ed of the Tayana T37 Maryann's Majic out of Annapolis attributes the following to renown seafarer Stephen B Luce:The Sea is selective,
Slow in recognition of effort and aptitude,
BUT,
Fast in sinking the unfit!

A foreman mechanic at a boatyard I worked for, Richard of Richmond Boat Works, said to me once that, "Sailing is hours of mild boredom with interrupted moments of sheer terror." J. Richard MB

Dave Jackson delivers the following: "We had shaken out all reefs, and now tore along at full speed, with the spray-drift sparkling in the sun, and a frolicsome jubilant sea. The delights of going fast when the water is deep and the wind is strong - ah! These never can be rightly described, nor the exulting bound with which your vessel springs through a buoyant wave, and the thrill of nerve that tells in the sailor's heart, 'Well, after all, sailing is a pleasure supreme.'" - from The Voyage Alone in the Yawl Rob Roy by John MacGregor, 1867

John Forsyth says, "If you don't know where you are going, then don't complain when you get there."

Frequently heard during the last 40 years of Frostbite Dinghy Racing in Belmont Harbor, Chicago: Upside down is slow. - Rick Van Mell

I'm not sure if this is printable. With much hesitation I submit, "If it flys floats or fornicates it's cheaper to rent." (source unknown) - Richard WhiteRichard, I'm not sure it's printable, but then this isn't print.

"There is always a guy with a bigger boat and a prettier wife." Once you accept this the happier you will be (and also the wealthier you will be). - B.G.W.

Attitude is everything. While cruising the South Pacific, we had a friend, Werner on Columbine, who would always say when the weather was rough (or anything else was not going well). "I'm glad there is a gale, because if I weren't glad, there would still be a gale." Bill Christoph, yacht Hubba Hubba

I'm quite certain time travel can be achieved by installing fluorescent lights on a sailboat. I've come to this conclusion based on how time seems to pass at a snail's pace when at the office and exponentially when sailing.
Kenneth J. Newell, Ph.D.
Vice President, Engineering
UltraCell Corporation
S/V Trim

Jim McEwen, Tequila Chica, Dana
Point, has this Tristan Jones quote on his wall:get what you
can afford,
sail what you can handle,
and love what you're doing

Applies to lots of things in life including
yacht refits: Good,
fast and cheap. Pick any two; you can't have all three. - Capt. H. J. Earl, USCG Master, Sausalito

My stink pot mechanic, Ted Cornnut (sp?)
here in Flagstaff once told me, when asked what is the single
best piece of advice you can give me before I launch my boat?
He said; "Never
approach a dock faster than you are willing to hit it." It works. - John Bachrach (Hunter's brother), Flagstaff, AZ

Jay's Right of Way RuleThe bigger the boat
the more the right of way.
Jay + Anita Bigland

"I remember reading this in Latitude
38 way back in the '80s so it can't be poetry." - Jeff
RossHere lies the body
of Micheal O'day
Who died maintaining his 'right of way'.
He was right, dead right, as he sailed along,
But he's just as dead as if he'd been wrong.

When Humperdinck Jackman entered the U.S.
Navy he was taught: "There's
a right way, a wrong way, and the Navy way."

Despite his wife's disapproval,
Paul Ouellette quotes an unknown author: "Sailing
is like a bad relationship...the costs are high in terms of aggravation,
time, and money...but when she's wet and you're riding her...it
all seems worthwhile."

John Reinhart writes: When people ask the question, "Aren't boats
expensive?" my reply is, "not as expensive as a house... and
you know a house is just a badly built boat. It won't hold water
and when the neighbors get ugly you can't move it." Stolen
from a Roberts boat building manual I carried around with me
from my teens till I was 30 and could afford to buy one.
[A house or a boat?]

This is a old one, from Gregory Clausen: "The two happiest
days a boat owner has are the day he buys a boat and the day
he sells it."

Just two items for a
section I hesitate to name, for reasons of modesty:1) Sailing & SpendingI am now gaining a better understading
of sailboat and sailing terminology:
One can have a day spender and do day spending.
One can have a coastal spender and do coastal spending.
One can have a bluewater spender and do bluewater spending.
Of course, I guess some of us can even have double-spenders .
. .2) "There are
at least two sides to every island."- David Stephens

I loved your wisdom section, maybe because
I think that while sailing can be a serious venture, there is
no need to be funereal about it. I don't recall the sources of
these one liners, but they seem to be in keeping with the spirit
of the column:In sailing, "adventure"
is what happens to the ill prepared.Life at sea can be
hell, but it sure beats the shit out of the alternative. Tom Scott, Nepenthe, Langkawi, Malaysia

In my life, I have lived on three different
shores, swum in every ocean, trod every continent. It still astounds
me that the only time I feel as though I have arrived, is when
the final dock line is cast off. - Bill Fortner, Merchant Mariner,
Chesapeake Bay, VA

When fog descends, the anchor is a navigational
aid: It finds you a place where you are not sinking! - Gene
Walker

Most memorable advice from my first instructor
at Tradewinds Sailing School: "If you get embarassed easily then sailing's
not for you." - Paul Miller

One should never enter a life raft except
when steeping up from the masthead. - Ann Trautwein, Redemption

Saw this quote on a crew t-shirt in Solomons
Island, MD, after a race: "Second
place is the first loser!" - John Rader, Cohabit

Kevin Meeks of Renaissance sent
in this quote by Sir Francis Bacon, "They are ill discoverers that think there
is no land, when they can see nothing but sea."

Said by the late Sid Bryant, an old salt
and former commodore of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club to his
son Dal, who was planning to purchase a liveaboard sailboat for
his young family. "Son,
you have to remember that people like terra firma - the more
firma, the less terra." -
Dal Bryant

From Jeff Ross: My friend Tom, at the age
of 35 and about to embark on a lifelong cruise replied to
a question about his finances, "I have enough money now to last me the rest
of my life... All I have to do is not spend any of it."

After 30+ years of sailing, (some in Star
boats), one of the best pieces of wisdom I have learned (the
hard way) is, DUCK! - Tom Walchli

"Nothing goes to
windward like a 747." - Andrew
Haslam, Auckland, NZ

At sea one time, after several days of
miserable weather, our Chief Cook said to me... "There are only two types
of people who go to sea: Cooks and Diners." - Jimmy Langton, PO1 Cdn Navy from
his lifelong bud "ffronk"

Life's journey is not
to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather
to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "...holy shit… what a ride!" Our
Chartering Editor suggested this quote but we weren't sure to
whom to attribute it. If you know,
We've had some
responses:

"I originally read the quote
in Dean Karnazes book, Ultramarathon Man," wrote
Chuck Fiorentino. He is a Bay Area resident and ultramarathon
runner. The quote in the book is: Life is not a journey to the
grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved
body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally
worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow - what a ride!"

Cory Layne of Tampa, FL, attributes the quote to Peter Sage,
international entrepreneur and business development consultant.

Mark Wieber suggested that the actual author is Mavis Leyrer,
age 83. "I have yet to find it in a book, and I hold Internet
information to be highly suspect." That does seem wise.

But wait!
Mark writes again: "Just stumbled across this reference: 'Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, Wow! What a Ride!' — Hunter S. Thompson

According to Ron Perkins, the exact quote is as follows: “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow! What a Ride!'" – Hunter S. Thompson, Gonzo. "The book Gonzo was published in 2007," writes Ron, "however it is a collection of Thompson's 'Gonzo Papers', which he authored between 1979 and 1994."

"They also attribute this gem to his wit: 'It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top.' " – Mark Wieber, Slocum 43 Goliard, Emeryville, CA

When people asked me, "How could you
give up this great job/life and go sailing?" I said, "The
truth is I don't have long to live." After a pregnant
pause, I'd say, "In ten, twenty or thirty years, I'll be
dead and I won't be able to do this!" - John Gambill, S/V Hotwire, St. Petersburg, FL

It's a little more than 20 years that as
a young man I sailed around the Caribbean with Mr. Thomas 'T-Bone'
Whatley, a seasoned old warrier who taught me a lot about being
a mariner. He had sayings that have been proven to be so true:
"In rough and
rolling seas all good sailors sit to pee,"
Salud, Augusto Villalon S/V Gaucho

When you loose control
of your saiboat, aim for the cheapest boat. So says Abilio Ramos of Blanca Rosa.

The last line from Pirates of the Caribbean:Now - bring me that
horizon.
Sent in by Daryl Yeakle, s/v Q

Only a fool becomes
embroiled in an argument on a singlehanded boat. - Skipper Neal

Mark Caplin writes:
Some of the best sailing advice I ever got was from an OCSC sailing instructor. He said. "If you're about to back into a dock, don't put it in forward and give it full throttle. You'll still hit the dock, but now you have a bunch of people watching you."

"To young men contemplating a voyage I would say go. The tales of rough usage are for the most part exaggerations, as also are the tales of sea danger. To face the elements is, to be sure, no light matter when the sea is in its grandest mood. You must then know the sea, and know that you know it, and not forget that it was made to be sailed over." - Joshua SlocumSent in by Eric White, Columbia 40 #10, Pelago, sailing out of Galesville,
MD

"Sailing is like being in jail, but with the possibility of drowning!" - Sara Dornsife sent in by Richard Finlayson

"I thought of this one years ago, working in the depths of a very deep bilge. Applicable as well, to hanging over the stern, up in the rig." Hold the nut, turn the bolt.
Aloha, Tom Warren, Lahaina

A guy and his wife hop aboard the jitney
outside Mystic Seaport. He tries to pay his fare when he discovers
that the coin channel on the meter is clogged. Calmly, without
oath, he takes a pocket knife out of his trousers, clears the
jam, pays his fare and sits down.
"Are you a plumber?" the driver asks.
"Sailor," the guy responds.

Overheard on a windy day at a crowded anchorage: "You can observe
a lot just by watching." Original
quote is generally credited toYogi Berra.
- Steve Harrington, Morning Calm, Pacific Seacraft 34

"When I was teaching boat handling in the Coast Guard we had a saying: Approaching a dock with a boat it is like approaching a woman in a bar - very seldom is a slow approach a poor approach." - Denis Mahoney

Only sailors are blown offshore. (Hey, I didn't say it - give JLKangley the credit for that one!)

In The Tao of Sailing, Ray Grigg
writes: "Wind
blows in one direction, but we want to go in another; wind blows
there, but we want to stay here. Wind keeps getting in the way
of made-up mind. So...change made-up mind to unmade-up mind."

Mike Bennett, Executive Director of the
Astronomical Society of the Pacific in San Francisco, writes: In what other sport
can you be wet, cold, hungry, happy, seasick, and scared - all
at the same time!

Advice from a favorite seafaring uncle:
"Be careful
who you talk to about your sailing plans. Those who have abandoned their dreams will try to destroy yours."
And a more practical suggestion when I got my first skipper's
job:"There are
three unbreakable commandments:
First, never mess with the owner's wife.
Second, never ever mess with the owner's daughter.
Third, never ever ever mess with the crew's paychecks."
Cheers, Jeremy Walker, Palo Alto

"I have a great medallion (on a chain)
acquired somewhere long ago. It has a sailboat on the front and
the back advises Pray
to God, but row for shore." Mark Wieber, Emery
Cove

Joe Rockmore sent this in: "If you want to build a ship, don't
drum up people together to collect wood or assign them tasks
and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity
of the sea." - Antoine de
Saint Exupery

Doug Brown of the s/v Arwen Evenstar of London heard this quote 30 years ago "from a guy in MDR
who was the biggest sailing BS'er in the marina: 'If you have to be somewhere by
a certain date, you aren't cruising, you're racing.' It has proven to be 100% true."

The ocean has the conscienceless
temper of a savage autocrat spoiled by much adulation. - Joseph Conrad (sent in by Joe Rockmore)

From Garry Willis of Breezn from Marina del Rey: I don't know the
source but I keep it on my desk as a reminder.
"Sailing alone soothes me because the sea is fair, not cruel.
It judges only your ability. It does not care who or what you
are. It does not ask your age, color, sex, address, sexual orientation, education or IQ,
but only your competence. It requires only that you can sail.
If you can, you survive. If you can't, better stay ashore. That's fair, more fair than most
of us experience on land...and refreshing."

Shirley Larsen sent us
these:
For cruisers: Try to keep yourself at the top of the food chain. -
Author unknown.A sure cure for
seasickness? Stand under a tree. - Robert Orr, Seattle.

Also on the subject of
seasickness from WG Nokes: "Seasickness is the only malady
from which you must recover to die."
Evolved from "I'm too seasick to die."

"There is more to
sailing than ropes and winches, cleats and bulging sails. There are faraway places and the ever changing light, and the
silence, and a great peace at the bottom of your soul." - Ferenc Maté"Dreams rarely
come true in exactly the fashion hoped for. They usually don't
come true worse - just different. It behooves all dreamers to
be flexible."Latitude 38, March, 1992
"I have been dreaming about cruising for many years and
getting close. I am looking forward to the 'just different' part."
Jay Ailworth, Strange Bird,
Catalina 42 #692, www.strangebird.usHow circular;
our print publication has been quoted by a reader in our cyber-publication.

Steve Moore found this
one years ago, but doesn't remember where:Let those who know
not how to pray go to sea.

The journey of a thousand
miles begins with a broken main halyard and a leaky toilet valve.
It's always darkest before dawn, so if you're going to sneak
out of port without filing a float plan, that's the time to do
it.If at first you
don't succeed, singlehanded round-the-world ocean racing is
not for you.Give a man a fish and
he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit
in a boat and drink beer all day.The above were
sent in by Phil Collins.

Another comment on the
latter subject:Give a man a fish,
he eats for a day. Give a man a boat, he can not afford
to eat again.
- Capt. Perseverance

Dan Spradlin on confusion: I have only
one real caution to the folks I bring onboard: I say, "If
it CAN get fouled, it WILL get fouled." This is in hopes
that I can get the crew to clear the decks of effluvia.Sounds like you could
equally be referring to the marine head.

Everything I need to
know about life, I learned from Noah's Ark:One: Don't miss the boat.
Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat.
Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
Four: Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you
to do something really big.
Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that
needs to be done.
Six: Build your future on high ground.
Seven: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board
with the cheetahs.
Nine: When you're stressed, float a while.
Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by
professionals.
From Dominic Haigh

Why sailors love the
sea: Without it
they would have to carry their boats.
Submitted by Ottar Friis "non-sailor - almost too old to
get started"

Stuart Kiehl sent in this
quote from Charles Schultz:"Don't worry
about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow
in Australia." Sounds
like something Linus would have said. Writing 'Lectronic Latitude news stories about events down
under always presents a temporal syntax challenge.

Adventure is never much
fun while it's happening. - unknown (submitted by John Bousha)

The sailors with the most
time get the best weather.From Padre Timo,
doing The 'Baja Bash'

As an engineer and
a sailor I came up with this about 30 years ago and kept
it posted on my office door for years. It certainly applies to
sailboats and anything else! 'In all systems, as complexity approaches infinity,
mean time between failures drops to zero.' - Stephen Streib

After taking a lightning
strike while below deck, and two feet from the keel-stepped mast, I offer these words regarding lightning: 'If you can hear it, fear it. If you can see it, flee it'. - Evan Williams, Sur Lees

I once knew an old
gent who had had quite the illustrious life. I asked him what
he'd done with his money. He immediately said: "Most of my money I spent
on boats and women. The rest I squandered." - Roy Myers, s/v
Minx of Fairhaven, currently in Newport Beach

Quoth Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, "Professor, I'm not what you
call a civilized man. I am finished with society for reasons
I alone can appreciate. I don't obey its laws, and I suggest
you never again refer to them again in my presence!" (Thanks
to Mark Ramos)

From Jim Leech of Neil
Pryde Sails:
One of my favorite Irish proverbs is "If you don't know
where you're going, any road will take you there." And for
those considering lending tools to the guy down the dock, "A
borrowed saw cuts anything."

These silly thoughts
are by Jim Borgman, Kismet, Catalina 36, Emeryville:
If it falls out of the bird, it will land on your deck. (Or,
put another way, physics cannot explain the powerful gravitational
attraction between fiberglass and birdshit.)
Sailors do it between the sheets.
Borgman's Head Motto: If you didn't drink it, don't flush it.
Nothing Lasts. Borgman's Proofs: Mylar headsails. Varnish. Beer.
Borgman's Contraries: Your first overnight sail. Your last place
finish. Your first wife's name on your transom.
Borgman counted 15 blackbirds frolicking noisily upon spreaders
from which dangled a menacing plastic owl.

A sailing rockstar? Attributed to David
Lee Roth by David Paul: "Money can't buy you happiness.
But it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside
it."

The definitive quote
about boating comes from Rat in Kenneth Grahame's Novel, Wind
in the Willows: "There
is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as
simply messing about in boats." Thanks to Sanders LaMont
for reminding us of it.

While we're quoting the
literati, it was JRR
Tolkien who said,
"Not all who wander are lost." - Submitted by Richard Finlayson

Calvin Chase quotes a PT boat skipper on Tulagi: "We have done
so much with so little for so long we can do anything with nothing."
Brian Mitchell says the full quote is: "We the unwilling,
led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful.
We have done so much for so long with so little that we are now
qualified to do anything with nothing." Brian adds that
it's been attributed to everyone from mercenaries in Africa during
the '50s to Mother Theresa. "It is pretty safe to assume
the original author probably will never be known."

Jerry Mennis writes: A
friend of mine was sitting on his 25-ft sailboat at the dock
when a dockwalker asked is he ever takes his boat out of the
marina and over the bar. My friend said 'yes' and the d.w. asked,
"How far do you go?" My friend said, "Till half
your beer is gone!"

From Gary Scharf: "When
I die, I want to go quietly, in my sleep; like my grandfather.
Not screaming in terror like his passengers." - Author unknown

"I don't drive
another man's car, boat, or wife." That philosophy has kept me alive and still friendly
with many a good friend over the years. I still recall some advice
given about how to make it feel that your drink is cool
when there is no ice when down in Mexico. Just plunk some nuts
and bolts in the drink and occasionaly shake it up for the ice-like
clinking sound. - John Perkins, Daytona Beach, FL

Could apply to yacht
racing: "Never
interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." - Napoleon
Bonaparte (sent in by LS from the Delta)

From one of my favorite
Antigua Sailing Week t-shirts: "My drinking team has a sailing problem!" - Greg Sherwood of 'Imi Loa in SF I think we ran a photo of that shirt in Latitude somewhere,
but don't ask me when.

CANNON BALLS: In the heyday of sailing ships,
all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those
cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep
a good supply near the cannon, but prevent them from rolling
about the deck. The best storage method devised was a square
based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on
nine which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of thirty cannon
balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon.
There was only one problem - how to prevent the bottom layer
from sliding/rolling from under the others. The solution was
a metal plate called a "Monkey," with sixteen round
indentations. If this plate was made of iron, the iron balls
would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem
was to make "Brass Monkeys." Few landlubbers realize
that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when
chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far,
the brass indentations would shrink so much that the cannon balls
would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally,
"Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!"
- via friendly spam

In an effort to debunk
the 'brass monkeys' story,
Ralph Ahseln of Gresham, OR, writes, "There are NO references to 'Brass Monkey' in
any nautical reference book available today. There are no words
even close to it. Therefore, assume it never existed as a nautical
term. The device that held ammunition on board was most likely
wooden, sometimes rope. A BRASS device would be unlikely to be
placed on the decks of a fighting ship. Brass would have been
a poor choice of materials. The 'holders' were called many things,
primarily a 'shot garland', sometimes called a 'shot grommet'.
Which brings us to the real problem with the Brass Monkey story:
Ammunition aboard those vessels was called either 'bombs' or
'shells' if they exploded, or 'shot' if they didn't explode.
There was round shot, bar shot, chain shot, case shot, cross
bar shot, langrel shot . . . So the old silly saying would have
been 'It was cold enough to freeze the round shot off a wooden
shot garland.' Kind of loses something in the translation, doesn't
it?"

In an effort to debunk
Ralph's debunking of the 'brass monkeys' story, Gregory Sherwood
of s/v Imi Loa writes, "Page 43 of Robert McKenna's book The Dictionary
of Nautical Literacy states:Brass monkey, a metal frame laid on the deck of a ship
to help contain the bottom layer of a stack of cannon balls.
The phrase 'cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey'
meant that in extremely cold temperatures the brass frame shrank
more than the iron cannon balls, and the stack would collapse.
Sorry Ralph!"

Bob Bell of Andiamo wrties, "From truth or fiction Web site: According to the United States Navy Historical
Center, this is a legend of the sea without historical justification.
The center has researched this because of the questions it gets
and says the term 'brass monkey' and a vulgar reference to the
effect of cold on the monkey's extremities, appears to have originated
in the book Before the Mast by C.A. Abbey. It was said
that it was so cold that it would 'freeze the tail off a brass
monkey.' The Navy says there is no evidence that the phrase had
anything to do with ships or ships with cannon balls."

On docking and launching...A successful docking
is one that you can sail away from.
The ease and success of launching and docking is inversely proportional
to the number of witnesses.
When sailing, the number of dockings should equal the number
of launches.
The motor, if it starts, always runs while the boat is tied to
the dock. If it doesn't start, there's people watching.
If anything is dropped on the dock, only the most expensive or
irreplaceable items will fall into the water [like your keys!].
How do you instantly draw a large, impatient crowd of motor boaters
at a launching ramp? Bring a sailboat.
Docking under power in a motorboat is normal. Docking under sail
is an adventure.
The frequency in changes in the wind is inversely proportional
to the proximity to the dock.
If there are any children or PWCs in the area, they will all
congregate at the dock as you approach.
Respectfully submitted by Lee Högman of the Mac 21 Cool
Change

A simple explanation
of how sailing works from Bill Schafer of the Olson 25 Ohana:"I am an engineer by training, and
a sailor at heart. We have trained many crew on Ohana. When trying to explain how sails work and get across the concept
of the sail shape needed, I often retort with, 'Sails don't blow,
they suck!' This usually gets the point across for why we need
to optimize the wing shape for lift, and they seem to remember
it."

Shari Cottrell sent
this in, and I remember seeing it on a No Fear t-shirt and liking
it then:If you're not living
on the edge, you're taking up too much space!

Patrick Maguire has
observed that,
"Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, much
of that comes from bad judgment."

"Enjoyed the few postings
I read so far; here is something I often tell myself when I get
stuck: There is no shortage of solutions, just a shortage of
imagination."
- Dave Yearsley, the Petaluma Riverkeeper

Michael Cobbald sent
us these quotes:"Loneliness
is the penalty of leadership, but the man who has to make decisions
is assisted greatly if he feels that there is no uncertainly
in the minds of those who follow him, and that his orders will
be carried out confidently and in expectation of success."- Sir Ernest Shackleton, from the journals of his last expedition to Antarctica

While riding on a tortoise,
the snail said "WHEEEE!"
From Joe on Bondo Tram

Dick Herman sent us
two very basic rules stolen years ago from the "Hog Log"
at the 512 TFS, Ramstein, Germany:1. The important
things are always simple.
2. The simple things are aways hard.

Nick Rouy submits:I was so sick I
thought I was going to die. I then became terrified I wouldn't.

"Never worry about
stepping on anyone's toes. People who get their toes stepped
on are standing still or sitting down on the job." - Admiral Arleigh "31 knot" Burke, USN

Mike Geer of s/v Michalla reminds us that, "Girls don't lay
down in boats they can't stand up in." Chuck Hawley agrees: "Richard claims that I said this in about 1982…while living aboard an Olson 30 in Clipper Basin 2. 'Do not expect a woman to lie down in a sailboat she cannot stand up in!' That did help explain a particularly rough patch in my love life in the '80s…"

From Joseph Conrad:
"The true peace of God begins a thousand miles from the
nearest land" For one that goes
back a few centuries, from Lecky's Wrinkles:"There is nothing so distressing
as running ashore, unless there is also doubt as to which continent the shore belongs."W.H.Tillman has
many good ones. Some of my favorites can be found in his Sailing/Mountain Exploration books.
"To furnish a wife will cost you much trouble, but to fit-out a ship the expenses are double." Perhaps no longer PC, but being non-PC in this day in age can
be a lot of fun. While Tillman was trying to find crew for a sailing/climbing
expedition to the Kerguelen Islands in 1959, he had this to say,
"Why attempt to drag five other misguided men halfway across
the world when it is obvious that most of our present-day troubles
come from men not staying quietly in their room at home? But upon visiting Mischief to see how things are going, such weak thoughts are speedily
banished. She and her kind were never built so that men should
stay quietly at home. She breathes sturdy eager confidence, a
living embodiment of the truth that the sea is for sailing, that
strenuousness is the immortal path and sloth the way of death"!
Oh Baby, I just love that last sentence.
- Courtesy David Eberhard
S/V Valkyrie

Captain Jack Curley
of Trinidad writes:I am... slave to
a 41 foot ketch in which I set sail for oceans west in 1982 from
Santa Barbara. I have been collecting "quotable quotes"
for many years and was pleased to learn of your Web page from
my former First Mate, now Captain of the ketch Tevake. Here is Kulkuri's (my magic carpet) motto, which I copied
from an article in a glossy yachting mag more than 20 years ago
and which I write at the opening of each year's new log: "There is never any excuse to put the comfort of the crew
above the safety of the vessel."
And from Tevake in Jacksonville, FL: "Remember,
paradise is exactly like where you are right now; only much,
much better."
Fair winds and foul friends - J W CurleyI love Captain Jack's
closing salutation - sure beats "Sincerely"!

From Jim and Ann Cate,
s/v Insatiable:Want to make
Neptune laugh? Tell him your cruising plans!

William Arthur Ward
said:"The pessimist complains about
the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails." - J.V.

From Luis de Camoes,
a Portuguese poet that wrote about the great sea odysseys of the XV century:
Original - "Navegar e preciso, viver nao e preciso"
Translation - "Navigation is necessary, life is not."
- Luiz Schechter

Stan Wieg writes about
the above quote: "I think maybe that translation should
be 'Navigation is precise; life is not.' - it certainly describes
my life if not my navigation."

Luiz Schechter replies:
"About the second translation, Stan Wieg is 100% correct.
Both translations deserve to be mentioned side by side, for the
double meaning was certainly Luis de Camoes' actual intention."

Tami Shelton sends in
quotes from a coupla Davids:
"It ain't sailin' if ya ain't breakin' shit." - David Beale, Ocean Springs, Mississippi, on racing beach catamarans.
"Prepare to mount the mark!" - David Tilley, Franklin, Louisiana, during a race when he looked
up to realize they were headed straight for a rounding buoy.

Zen Philosophy sent
in by Cathy Paulsen:"Never test
the depth of the water with both feet."

Attributed to Sharon
Green, Sailing Photographer: "Sailing is
not carried out against the elements, but because of them."